BROWN SPIRITS REPORT: SCOTCH WHISKY
to 52,400; and Laphroaig +4.6% to 49,100; Bell’s +5.0% to 45,900; The Balvenie +13.0% to 44,300; Jura +10.9 to 42,400; The Dalmore +14.3% to 39,20; Lauder’s +22.2% to 39,100; Talisker +31.1% to 38,300; and Hankey Bannister +2.9% to 36,500. The bottom line is that more
than half of all Scotch whisky brands included in the IWSR top 100 recorded sales declines during the period. However, it is also no coincidence
that those brands that did show resilient growth were mostly single malts – once again underlining premium preferences amongst consumers. In this respect IWSR notes that this
‘trend’ – if indeed it can be termed as such – reflects a similar pattern in many domestic markets where malts are clearly outperforming their blended counterparts.
Scotch drinkers on the hunt By all accounts, this trend has continued over the last year and it is interesting that the desire to find something new and individual remains alive and well, especially amongst older established Scotch whisky consumers who have become more adventurous in recent years, with travel retail a popular hunting ground. One major player in the business
with a huge Scotch whisky brand in Dewar’s White Label, plus a range of new discovery malts, is Bacardi Global Travel Retail, whose Managing Director is Mike Birch. He is both upbeat and convinced
that the market is now entering a new era of consumer behaviour which offers big opportunities, as he explained: “Scotch has 40% of total sales in
travel retail and that percentage is much higher in Asia Pacific, so it is a hugely important category that will still be buoyant and will grow. “But I think that an important
insight is that this growth is now going to be filled by the middle classes, who we can already see are spending less. “They will want to buy the big
number one and two brands in the category and they will work out where they are cheapest.
MAY 2017
Craigellachie at the DFS Group Duplex Store in Terminal 3 at Singapore Changi Airport.
“Then we are going to get some of the current whisky consumers – particularly those in emerging markets – who have historically been buying a lot of premium products – although I am not talking about super premium $15,000 to $30,000 products – I am talking between $60 and $600. “As you get into the five stages
of luxury, these people are going to see all of the emerging classes buying the products they used to buy and they are going to want to differentiate themselves and show a bit more knowledge and sophistication in whisky. “We know this is happening already
because malt is growing faster than blend and esoteric malts are growing even faster than mainstream malts and this will accelerate. “So we are going to see growth
in all of the whisky portfolio and the main brands will continue to be fuelled.”
Second stage luxury malts Birch believes new recruits to the whisky category will want what he calls ‘second stage luxury malt whiskies’ which differentiate and disrupt a little bit more against the codes of the category. He says the Dewar’s brand has
been repackaged and is ready with its 15-year old blend, which is now ‘a very substantial product in the top 10’ league. It is also launching a 25-year version just under its existing
“As you get into the five stages of luxury, these people are going to see all of the emerging classes buying the products they used to buy and they are going to want to differentiate themselves .”
Mike Birch, Managing Director, Bacardi Global Travel Retail
Dewar’s 30-Year-Old Ne Plus Ultra. In addition, he believes there is great potential for the company’s malt whiskies, Aberfeldy, Craigellachie, Aultmore and Royal Brackla. He says the repackaged Aberfeldy
as an exclusive 18yo has gone from being the 29th biggest malt to the eighth in Asia Pacific and ‘one of the fastest growing malts in GTR. He is therefore convinced
that this will be a big malt brand in the future. In addition, Royal Brackla
and Aultmore are going into undisclosed selected markets while Craigellachie 31yo has just been voted the world’s best whisky, which Birch believes will be ‘an absolute superstar of the future’. “We have also got a lot of
exclusives and small batch product ranges being introduced to the market over the next 18 months and these malts are all going in against this second stage of luxury. “So I think that the fundamentals are all there.” «
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